


better not pout

by horlik_aholic



Series: 12 days of ziall fics [3]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, FLUFF OK, M/M, Not Famous, grumpy!zayn, hehe, just fluff, ziall getting a christmas tree :)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-17
Updated: 2014-12-17
Packaged: 2018-03-01 21:34:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2788523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/horlik_aholic/pseuds/horlik_aholic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>day 3 of my 12 days of ziall fics</p><p>zayn's not all that excited about getting the christmas tree, but niall changes his mind</p>
            </blockquote>





	better not pout

**Author's Note:**

> as per usual, im a few hours late posting this. day 3 of my 12 days of ziall fics, intended posting date of december 16 (only a 3 hours late!!). this was based on a cute anon prompt i got on tumblr asking for ziall decorating the tree with grumpy zayn, so if you were the one who sent me the prompt, i hope you enjoy it!! if anyone else wants to send in prompts that'd be totally cool, you can leave a comment or send me an ask at candycaneziall.tumblr.com :) 
> 
> also this isnt edited because iTS 3 AM but ill try to get to it tomorrow !! so i apologize for any mistakes!
> 
> title from santa claus is coming to town OBVIOUSLY

 

"Niall, c'mon. It's late, not tonight okay?"

For the better part of the last hour, Niall has done nothing but beg Zayn to go with him to get their Christmas tree. Zayn wants more than anything to make Niall happy, but. It's not that he doesn't want a Christmas tree, per say, more that he just doesn't want to deal with the hassle of it all. It's such a process-- picking the right tree, lugging it up to their 3rd floor flat, stringing the lights, keeping it watered, cleaning the pine needles that manage to get  _everywhere_. Not to mention the fire hazard of keeping a 2.5 metre dead tree in your living room. 

Zayn _really_  doesn't want to have to deal with all that.

"It's not even 9:30!" Niall argues, pushing what's leftover from his meal aside.

"Right but, by the time we finally get out of here it will be 10. Nothing will even be open by then babe. Can't we go tomorrow?" Every time he puts it off he buys himself a little more time to try and convince Niall of the merits of fake trees. Safe! Pre-Lighted! No mess! No upkeep! Easy storage! He's basically transformed into a walking advert.

Niall shakes his head vehemently. He's got that look in his eyes that Zayn knows too well-- he's not going to budge this time. "No way Z, you've been sayin' tha' for the last two weeks. It's already the 16th of December 'm not waiting any longer." The waiter comes over with the cheque, just then and Niall grins triumphantly, " 'Sides, the cheque's just arrived now. We'll be outta here in 10 minutes tops."

"Ni," Zayn whines in defeat, pulling out his wallet to pay and waving Niall's hand away, "Let's please just get a fake tree. So convenient, that."

"Where's the fun in that though?" Niall lets out a frustrated sigh, shaking his head at Zayn, "Christmas isn't about convenience, mate. Christmas is about family, tradition. And the  _smell of pine needles_ , c'mon Zaynie! That alone should be enough to convince you. Show me a fake tree that can give you that real authentic Christmas smell, eh Malik?"

He's tempted to point out that every candle store in the country is selling pine-scented candles and incense right now, but he bites his tongue. He's lost this battle and he admits defeats.

"Fine, we'd better get going then."

The way Niall's face lights up almost makes it worth it.  _Almost_. 

They're at the Christmas tree lot just before 10pm, the owner assuring them they've got plenty of time as the lot is open for another hour yet.

Brilliant.

Niall's excited though, and Zayn has to smile a bit at the way he's flitting from tree to tree happily. He's incredibly particular, circling each tree 2 or 3 times before moving on, and Zayn would laugh except for that Niall's making his way over to the taller trees and Zayn  _really_  doesn't want to leave here with a 3 metre tree that will definitely not fit in their flat. 

He panics, locking onto the first tree he sees and calling Niall over. "Hey Ni, come look at this one!" 

The way Niall perks up immediately at the sound of Zayn's voice makes him feel a bit guilty, but he doesn't have time to dwell on it before his boyfriend is at his side. They both look at the tree for the first time, and Zayn deflates as he realizes that he's called Niall over to look at what's basically a glorified Charlie Brown Christmas tree. 

It's tall enough, maybe an arms length taller than Zayn, but it's not half as full as all the other trees in the lot and there's a huge gap on one side where there are hardly any branches at all. There's a pause, before Niall breaks out laughing, clutching at his sides.

Zayn laughs too, ready to turn to a different tree before Niall's voice rings out, "I love it. This is our tree, innit. You've said one damn thing since we've been here and it was to point out this tree so we're gettin' this feckin tree."

They both laugh when the guy asks them if they're  _absolutely_  sure this is the tree they want, and Niall is still grinning even after they've strapped the tree up to the car and made it all the way home. 

With some difficulty and a lot of manoeuvring, the pair manage to get the tree up in their living room, standing proudly in the corner. Zayn kicks at some pine needles that have fallen to the ground and his bad mood is back-- all this work and they still need to put the lights on before they even think about adding the ornaments. 

He heaves a long, drawn-out groan when Niall immediately grabs a string of lights and starts untangling. "Ni, c'mon, now it really is late. Can't we do this all tomorrow then?"

"Nope!" Niall pops the 'P', standing to start raveling the strand he's just untangled around the tree. Zayn sits back on the coach grumpily, watching as he takes care to leave out the plug parts, tucking the cord away neatly. Niall's about halfway down the tree when he stops, rummaging around in the cabinet for a moment before inserting a disc into their stereo. 

Justin Bieber's voice fills the room, crooning the lyrics to  _Santa Claus is Coming to Town_ , and despite his grumpiness Zayn has to let out a laugh. 

Niall goes back to stringing the lights, singing at the top of his lungs and shaking his, admittedly flat, arse as he shimmies his way around the tree. Zayn sits resolutely on the couch, determined not to get swept up in Niall's festivity.

It's proving difficult though; the blonde's mood is infectious and by the time  _Santa Baby_  comes on Zayn's laughing along, shushing Niall and reminding him of the last time they got noise complaints. Niall just wiggles his eyebrows at Zayn and pulls him off the couch, abandoning the tree to plant him in the middle of the living room and dancing around  _Zayn_  instead. 

Once  _Last Christmas_  comes on though, it's all downhill. This song is their  _jam_ , the one thing they can agree on at Christmastime that makes everything else worthwhile.

By the time the second chorus rolls around, Zayn's stood on the couch, a roll of wrapping paper held up to his mouth as a make-shift microphone and belting out the words at the top of his lungs. Niall's trying to sing along but he's mostly dissolved into incoherent laughter as he tries desperately to keep up, gasping for breath as Zayn starts headbanging. 

Zayn's so wrapped up in his passionate rendition that he doesn't notice Niall has picked up an extra string of lights until its too late.

He smirks up at Zayn, using the lights as a lasso and roping his boyfriend. He pulls and Zayn loses his already precarious balance entirely, toppling down on top of Niall in a fit of breathless laughter.

"Yes!" Niall cries, shoving Zayn off of him and sitting up before grabbing the collar of Zayn's shirt and pulling him close in something halfway between a laugh and a kiss. Zayn is happy to oblige, sitting up on his haunches and grabbing each side of Niall's face, thumbs stoking at his temples and fingers interlocked behind his neck. 

Niall's just moving to straddle Zayn's hips, never breaking the kiss, when there's a loud banging on the door and shouting for them to _turn down the damn Christmas carols, it's fucking_ midnight _for Christ's sake_. 

They both dissolve into laughter again, pulling back so that they're just looking at each other. Niall's eyes are wide and happy, hair disheveled and face split into a grin, and Zayn's sure he must look much the same.

They come to a silent agreement that, just this once, the rest of the tree decorating can wait till tomorrow. 


End file.
